rail fastening system

A rail fastening system is used to fix rails to railway sleeper or railroad ties, which is usually consisted of rail anchors, rail tie plates, chairs, fasteners, spikes, screws, bolts, etc. The selection of a fastening system must be made with utmost care for rail road safety can’t be compromised.

Types of Fastenings

Various types of fastenings have been developed to meet the requirements of railway development. Namely, there are fastening with rail spike with base plate above the tie, E-clip Fastening, Pandrol Fast Clip Fastening, Tension Clamp Fastening, Bolt Clamp Fastening, Tack Joint and Chairs Fastening, and Steel Spring Keyed rail in Chair Fastening, the name of which may vary with locations, and the picture of the various of rail fastening system are shown as follow:

Rail spike with base plate above the tie

E-Clip' fastening

'fastclip' fastening

Tension clamp fastening

Bolt clamped fastening

Track joint and chairs

Steel spring keyed rail in chair

Fastening Design Criteria

A resilient fastening has its own features, such as, the spring/clip holding the rail to the railroad sleeper, the shoulder/anchor holding the clip, an insulator and a rail pad separating the rail from the railroad sleeper. As for the four features, there are strict criteria stipulated to ensure the fastening effect.

1. Rail clamping force

Clamping forces may vary with the fastening system and customer requirements. Generally, most fastening systems offer a clamping force per clip between 7.5 to 12.5 kN with deflections of the clips toe between 10 and 15mm. According to European standards, the minimum force to push the rail through the fastening system of 7kN is for most main line tracks and 9 kN for high speed rail and heavy freight lines, which suggests that a nominal clamping force per clip of 8.5kN at minimal for mixed traffic line and 10 kN for the more severe applications.

2. Shoulder/ anchor

The shoulder/anchor has a very important role in fastening system. The shoulder/anchor has to be able to withstand the impact of loads and vibration transmitted to the sleeper without breaking the sleeper or getting loose. The European standard requires that all the elements of fastening should be capable to withstand a 60kN pullout force with doing no harm to the sleeper.

3. Insulator

Insulator in rail fastening system works as a cushion to stop the wearing of other fastening components. And then the insulator must be made of materials resistant to wear, to degrade from ultra violet light and to attack from chemicals. The requirements on insulators vary with the nature of the signaling and electrical systems.

4. Rail pads

The function of rail pads is to spread the load from the rail to the railroad sleeper and to attenuate the loads impact from bad joints, track irregularities and faults in rolling stock. The railroad pad is usually made of rubber, of 10 mm thick, or is a plastic such as EVA between 5 mm and 10 mm thick. The stiffness of the pad is typically in the rang 40-450 kN/mm, and the 5 mm plastic pad can offer stiffness as high up to 6000 kN/mm. Low stiffness railroad pads are not recommended for use in curves sharper than about 400m radius.

FAQ

1. What is the definition of ONE SET railway fastening system.

Generally ONE SET railway fastening system refers to the unit for one side of a sleeper of a single rail, i.e., 2 sets of fastening systems are needed for a single sleeper of a single rail, and 4 sets needed to fix a sleeper with rails.

2. Do you supply FREE samples of the rail fastening systems?

FREE samples can be supplied but the freight is paid by customer.

3. How is surface treatment for the fasteners？

We provide different coating service as per clients’ requirement: plain (oiled); paint with any color; oxide black; wax; bituminizing; DHG; electroplating zinc and others are available. plain and black oxide are all available.

4. What is the payment term?

We usually accept 30% prepayment, and the balance 70% against B/L copy within 5 working days after B/L date; flexible payment is negotiable.

5. What is the delivery time?

It depends. Delivery time can be as short as 10 days or less when moulds or goods are in stock. Otherwise, it may take 30-40 days to develop new products.

6. How do you guarantee the quality of fastening system?

A: We have passed the certification of CRCC in China and ISO9001:2008 overseas. We also accept third party test from clients.